Luke: Did that really just happen? Noah: I think it actually did. He doesn’t like you at all.

— Luke and Noah

Dec 25

News and Updates | 25 December 2010

First of all, Hayley has come out with a Christmas edition of the Reid Oliver Cartoon Saga. Let’s just say that Luke’s cookies are at risk (the ones for Santa, that is)!

Could not parse XML from YouTube

In the meantime, I’m starting to think it will be easier to make a list of the year-end soap “bests lists” that LuRe DON’T make then the ones where they’re prominently featured!

Beginning with SoapCentral.com. In their December 10th edition of Soap Central Live (a web radio broadcast) CBS Soaps In Depth Editor, Richard Simms names Reid’s death as the worst storyline of the year, and Van Hansisas his pick for ATWT Emmy gold.

In their year-end recap edition on December 24th featuring their ATWT Two Scoops columnists (along with all the other shows), Jennifer Biller names Reid Oliver coming to Oakdale as the best storyline (and Reid Oliver as “the best new character in daytime, period”) while Reggie Jackson singles out ‘Reid’s death and Luke’s unhappy ending as the worst storyline.

AfterElton.com’s snicks puts together his tongue-in-cheek “memoriam” to gay characters lost from television’s landscape (as he puts it, “Whether from cancellation, ratings scapegoating, assassination, or being unable to press that damn release button on the seat belt”), and #1, 2, and 3 on the list are ATWT’s trifecta of Luke, Noah, and Reid (in that order).

BlogTalkRadio’s Ryan Holmes has yet another interesting interview coming up – this time with Michael Fairman who will deliver his year-end bests and worsts lists on-air live Tuesday December 28th at 9PM EST/6PM PST. (917) 388-4131 to call in.

Last, in a sobering thought for Van and Eric. I had thought they had an uphill battle getting a Best Supporting Emmy pre-nom between the two of them and Trent Dawson, who did a fantastic job showing that Henry is not just Katie’s goofball sidekick. But TV Guide’s Michael Logan makes an even more sentimental suggestion in his year-end list:

Best Supporting Actor and Actress: As the World Turns‘ Don Hastings and Kathryn Hays (Bob and Kim)

Watching these timeless vets send ATWToff the air with class and grace made the loss of a great soap so much more bearable. Hastings played the wise, stalwart, hopelessly busy chief of staff. Hays was his devoted yet frustrated wife. No showboating here. This was pure, unfussy acting, straight from the heart. Man, how I miss them already! When ATWT concluded its run, we didn’t just lose two fine stars in Hastings and Hays — we lost two members of a rare, vanishing breed of east coast actor who proudly spent their lives in daytime drama. It’s what they knew. It’s all they wanted. They didn’t need to go be big shots in prime time to prove their worth. We were enough for them, and that’s why we loved them so damn much. And it was a very long love affair indeed! Hastings spent 50 years in Oakdale, Hays was there for 38. The fact that neither of them was ever nominated for an Emmy during that time is a crime of epic proportion.

This is going to be a crowded category!

More from snicks and transcripts of the relevant Soap Central Live passages follow below. In the meantime, snicks reader dkellergrl2001 reminds us (I think snicks gets credit for originating this gem):

And you know, better to have love and lost, than to have never been with anyone but Noah.

Merry Christmas (or happy December 25th if you don’t celebrate any of the holidays), fellow Lurians! More Christmas goodies to come over the next week, so stay tuned….

-LL

Richard Simms on Soap Central Live

On December 17th, Richard Simms, Editor of CBS Soaps In Depth appeared as a guest on Soap Central Live with Dan Kroll.

On December 10th, 2010 Richard Simms, Editor of CBS (and ABC) Soaps In Depth, appeared as a guest on Soap Central Live with Dan Kroll. In the show, they reviewed the Best and Worst of 2010, show by show. The ATWT discussion begins at about 10:35 if you want to listen for yourself.

In response to a question about some of the best and worst moments on the show, Richard Simms responds:

The worst moment for me hands down was the end of Luke’s storyline. I found it incredibly bizarre. and not just mildly, but pretty offensive that a show that got so much attention for telling a same-sex couple storyline – not just one, but two – ended their show with Luke being the only character on the canvas not to get a happy ending. That just was beyond jaw-dropping to me.

Richard named the Jack/Carly/Janet storyline as one of his favorites. When pressed for ONE actor who most deserves an Emmy nod, he replied:

Oh, that’s a tough one because ATWT had such an amazingly talented cast. And because of the fact that the show was ending a lot of their people got to show their very, very, very best work. It’s a really tough call. Hmmm… I think I would have to go with Van Hansis. I thought he did some really nice work.

Dan Kroll started out sounding like he was going to agree. though he never finished the thought: “I think I would have to…I’m not sure who’s going to submit. There’s a whole lot of stuff in there. I’d sort of like to see.,…There are couple of people who have been due a daytime Emmy nod, but they’re on other shows now…”

Two Scoops Review on Soap Central Live

Several (non-ATWT) Two Scoopers cited the cancellation of ATWT as the worst moment of the year.

Jennifer Biller’s comments begin at about 49:19. When asked for hits and misses, she started off saying, “There were several that had me rolling my eyes…but let me preface that with ‘You don’t realize how much you miss sometihng until it’s gone.’ Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

She singled out Meg going crazy and her Paul obsession as being “beyond ridiculous” and complete character assassination (I agree).

When asked for a most memorable moment or favorite storyline (51:09) she started out with, “As time went on, the show tended to get better and better” (though she then cited how much people hated all the airtime given to Janet’s family). But then she adds (at 51:45):

On the same note, you had really FANTASTIC storylines. REID OLIVER, the BEST new character, I think, to come to daytime, period, not just ATWT. He was such a fantastic character and he shook up one of the most popular romances on the show. Luke and Noah. No one ever would have thought you could ever mess with Luke and Noah and he DID. And I think the great thing about him was that he was such a well-rounded character, and yes he was gay, but that did not define his character. It was just sort of part of who he was. That has been in the running for one of my best storylines – Reid Oliver coming to town.

ATWT’s second Two Scooper, Reggie Jackson, came on at about 53:14. When asked about what did and didn’t work, he replied:

The one that didn’t work, and it was towards the end, it was the killing of Reid at the end. I just thought it was so horrible that they killed him at the end and they didn’t give Luke the kind of ending they gave like a Janet or some of these other characters that hadn’t been on the show as long.

Reggie went on to talk about how much he enjoyed the Jack and Carly storyline. No date was given for a Year In Review piece so I’m not sure if he’ll be doing one.

As we move into 2011, it’s time to take a look back at the slew of gay TV characters who were tragically taken from us this year.

Whether from cancellation, ratings scapegoating, assassination, or being unable to press that damn release button on the seat belt, all of these men were gone too soon, but left an indelible impression on us (well, except a few who no one really watched.)

So put on some "Fire and Rain," or "Over The Rainbow," or … that Tori Amos song everyone plays during these occasions, and take a moment to remember with us what made each of them special. Oh, and it’s okay to smile …

This entry was posted
on Saturday, December 25th, 2010 at 6:58 am and is filed under News/Updates.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Donate

Click on the links below to support Eric and Van's charities! Please note: these are FAN initiatives to support organizations Eric and Van have supported in the past, not organizations that the actors are actively soliciting for. If you're so inclined, note that you'd like to make your donation in honor of Eric or Van.

LoveLure's Videos

Luke and Reid and all other characters, sets, and ideas from the ATWT universe belong to CBS/P&G/Telenext, as do all original clips. Songs utilized with no infringement intended and will be removed upon request. Original content (c) by lovelure except where credited to others.